In today’s news: Finnish National Opera and Ballet appoints Gita Kadambi as general director, and Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja wins Swiss Music Prize. This year’s German classical music festivals, and Inkinen becomes new principal conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Herbert Blomstedt receives Brahms award, and Jörg-Peter Weigle is being considered new principal conductor in Frankfurt.

Finnish National Opera and Ballet has appointed Gita Kadambi as general director. She will assume the position in January 2018, replacing Päivi Kärkkäinen, taking on the management and leadership of the entire organisation.

In our news today, PRS for Music Foundation has launched a new fund and resource, Cardiff Singer announces the first judges and The Metropolitan Opera has announced their new concertmaster. Also, 13 year old jazz pianist Joey Alexander presents his new debut song and nearly 4,000 young people to receive free instruments and tuition.

The Metropolitan Opera announced Thursday that its next concertmaster would be the young Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi, who has appeared with orchestras around the world and played last season with the electic, genre-bending string trio Time for Three.

A couple of weeks ago the jazz pianist Joey Alexander turned 13. Given the unusual arc of his young career, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he celebrated onstage with his trio, at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival.